A Smile To Remember

we had goldfish and they circled around and aroundin the bowl on the table near the heavy drapescovering the picture window andmy mother, always smiling, wanting us allto be happy, told me, 'be happy Henry!'and she was right: it's better to be happy if youcanbut my father continued to beat her and me several times a week whileraging inside his 6-foot-two frame because he couldn'tunderstand what was attacking him from within.

my mother, poor fish,wanting to be happy, beaten two or three times aweek, telling me to be happy: 'Henry, ...